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Liberia tense as fighting escalates
Episcopal News Service
Issue:
Section:
2003-069-8
Posted: Friday, March 28, 2003
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In a cell phone conversation from the capital city of Liberia with the Rev. Benjamin Musoke-Lubega, the Episcopal Church's partnership officer for Africa, Bishop Edward Neufville reported that Cuttington University College had been evacuated but that several important generators still had to be retrieved and moved to Monrovia. He confirmed that Phebe Hospital, near the Cuttington campus, had also been abandoned, with most staff and patients moved to Monrovia. Neufville said that the health minister confirmed the evacuation.
Neufville expressed confidence that it would be possible for the college to use the British International School for its classes. 'The board is still reviewing the situation,' the bishop said. When asked about the mood in Monrovia, he said that it was 'tense.' He said that there were reports of skirmishes 30 miles from the capital but added that the government was claiming that the rebels had been stopped.
'The number of displaced people is increasing,' the bishop said, 'as people flee for their lives.' As a result, the camps for these people are seriously overcrowded. 'This is a serious and pathetic situation,' Neufville said. He expressed his gratitude for the phone call, calling it 'a source of encouragement for us.'
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| © 2004, The Episcopal Church, USA. Episcopal News Service content may be reprinted without permission as long as credit is given to ENS. |
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